Some educators keep their teaching licenses despite masturbating in public, dating students and downloading pornography at school.

Some teachers caressed students, befriended children online or were caught with their pants down
in public.

It didn't keep them out of the classroom.

Ohio law and state Education Department policies don't automatically revoke licenses for
misconduct, other than for the most serious crimes, such as rape, murder and sexual battery.

The Dispatch has identified at least 50 educators across Ohio who were allowed to keep their
licenses despite being disciplined for becoming too personal with students or doing something
sexually inappropriate.

Some masturbated in parks. Others made suggestive remarks to students. Some downloaded
pornography at school. At least one teacher dated a student; another married one.

"They should not have their license," said Charol Shakeshaft, a Virginia Commonwealth
University professor who has studied educator misconduct. "If a teacher has done something sexual
to a child . . . we can't give them a second or third chance because kids are at risk."

Ohio education officials have the power to punish for a broadly defined violation known as
"conduct unbecoming."

Penalties range from a written warning to revocation of licenses, the state-issued
certificates that allow teachers, tutors, coaches and administrators to work in Ohio's public
schools and most private ones.

Overall, 292 educators have been disciplined since 2000 in sex-related cases, a Dispatch
investigation found. More than 75 percent lost their licenses; of those, the state had no choice in
nearly 40 percent of cases because they involved crimes that bar offenders from holding a teaching
certificate.

The 50 educators who kept their licenses were punished in lesser ways:

• 34 signed agreements promising to behave and, in some cases, seek counseling or training.

• 10 received written warnings.

• Three were suspended but offered early reinstatement for good behavior.

• Two were given immediate reprieves from suspensions.

• One teacher, who had been disciplined previously for touching students, was suspended until
he could prove that he was not a danger to children.

"We make that decision based on the professional judgment of those who work in the office,"
said Adrian Allison, who until last month supervised the Education Department's Office of
Professional Conduct. "Our goal is to ultimately make sure that we have the ability to . . .
monitor their activity."

For example, the state is watching Richard Kraemer, a former social-studies teacher at Triad
High School in Champaign County who used his classroom computer to arrange trysts with men, send
e-mails about sexual fantasies and download graphic photographs.

Kraemer declined to comment. The other teachers named in this story did not respond to
telephone messages or certified letters seeking comment.

The state gave Kraemer a written reprimand. He currently is not teaching.

"They're way too lenient," Triad Superintendent Dan Kaffenberger said. "He kind of lost his
way, and you can't take that kind of risk. I wouldn't hire him."
Revealing the secrets

The state system is shrouded in secrecy for many disciplined teachers who are allowed to keep
their licenses. Ohio law prevents parents, local school officials and the public from reviewing
complaints and evidence against those teachers.

Only the final outcome -- the written reprimand that summarizes the misconduct -- is public.
And in many cases, it's impossible to decipher because the description of the misconduct is vague
or has been deleted.

The Dispatch reviewed public records from school districts, prosecutors, police and courts to
learn what led to reprimands because state case files often lack any detailed information about the
allegation.

Franklin Heights High School science teacher William J. Kruczynski admitted to investigators
that he entertained a student in his home on several occasions. They danced and fondled one
another. He kissed her breasts.

She told South-Western district authorities that they had sex even before she graduated. He
denied it.

But this is certain: Kruczynski married her soon after she received her diploma. State
officials punished him years later for developing "an inappropriate relationship with a student."
He remains at Franklin Heights.

South-Western school officials chose not to discipline Kruczynski but to allow the state
Education Department to decide whether he should stay in the classroom. The state gave him a
written reprimand.

"He met his obligation, and that was ODE's decision," South-Western spokeswoman Sandy
Nekoloff said. "We did not go beyond ODE."

Danville High School teacher Jerry D. Slone received a written reprimand for "inappropriate
boundaries."

Allegations surfaced that Slone hugged female students. The state investigated, suspended his
license for three months during the summer of 2006 and ordered him to undergo a mental-health
evaluation by June 30, 2006.

When Slone failed to meet the conditions, the state suspended his license until he could
prove that he wasn't a threat to children. He has not yet met the standards.

"Mr. Slone does not have a sexual-deviancy problem. He has a problem maintaining distance
between himself and his special-needs children," Drown said. "He kissed a student on the top of the
head after a parent died. In today's world, you can't have any human contact with the kids. I feel
like Mr. Slone got railroaded."

The state gave Ralph Andrew Salzer a written warning for "inappropriate e-mail communication
with an out-of-state student." The warning includes no further details.

He fostered an online friendship with a 14-year-old Texas girl whose mother provided details
to The Dispatch.

The mother, who had been monitoring her daughter's online friendships, put an end to the
relationship after Salzer wrote that he loved the girl. The mother tracked Salzer to Pickerington
North High School, where he teaches and coaches.

"He was a high-school teacher teaching other girls her age. That was really scary," the
mother said in an interview last month. She asked not to be named to protect her daughter's
identity. "If he had been some corporate (worker), maybe I wouldn't have said anything."

Pickerington officials kept him in the classroom. State officials gave him a written warning.

"He wouldn't be teaching in Texas. I would have been in the face of everybody, making sure of
it," the mother said. "It's totally unacceptable behavior."
Weighing the evidence

State Superintendent Susan T. Zelman said she designed a disciplinary system in 1999 to
protect students.

"One person who plays with the life of a child . . . is too many," she said.

But the due-process rights of teachers and the need for evidence of wrongdoing ultimately
outweigh the interests of kids in determining who is banned from the profession and who can stay.

Shakeshaft, the professor, said kids need to come first.

"Even if a case won't meet the criminal or contractual requirements, but we think the person
has sexually engaged or crossed over the line with children, we have the responsibility to take
action," she said.

Detectives wrote in their report that the 27-year-old teacher slept in the same bed with a
girl during a field trip, gave her massages and asked the six students on the trip to take a vow of
silence: "What happens in New York stays in New York."

The girl's mother, when questioned by police, said, "It was just sex. I had sex when I was
her age. Let it go."

Without the cooperation of the girl or her family, the case collapsed.

Police concluded: "There is no evidence showing that a criminal act took place ... although
there is plenty of evidence of misconduct."

The state suspended his license. He'll be eligible to teach next year.

"Is it a perfect process? No." Allison said. "But we try our best."

That's not good enough for Lorain County sheriff's detective Karl Yost, who has handled
several cases involving educators gone bad.

"We're trusting them with our children. The laws are not tough enough on them," he said. "If
you get caught, you need to pay. This is a child's life -- some of them never get right again."